Students

The Commercial Programme

St. Ann's Academy Commercial Class, 1894 (click for larger image)

The Commercial Class was started in 1892 by Sister Mary Matthew, who had been a legal secretary and court reporter before entering the Novitiate. There were limited options for employment for women, and aside from teaching and nursing, business skills were a popular choice.

The students learned shorthand, typing, bookkeeping, office communication and other useful skills. The reputation for the programme grew, and during the 1930s, a number of the graduates were hired to work in the Provincial Legislature. A Diploma was presented at the end of the programme, as an indication of the abilities of these young women.

St. Ann's Academy Commercial Class, 1932 (click for larger image)

Students that registered for the programme were often older than the other students and the uniform of the Academy was not required. Some pupils chose to combine the commercial studies with their high school classes. There were prizes offered for proficiency in typing and stenography, often presented by typewriter manufacturers and business supply companies. Typing is the activity that most of the St. Ann’s alumnae remember, as the sound of the heavy manual keys clacking and tapping travelled through the hallways.

St. Ann's Academy Commercial Class, coinage (click for larger image)

Tokens and paper money bearing St. Ann’s name were used as teaching aides in the late 19th century, “as many of the youngsters of the period had no experience with money.” (letter from R.A. Greene, Victoria B.C., September 30, 1997) These fake coins would be passed through the banking wicket, to allow the young women in the course to practice handling currency. Examples of coins, valued at 5 and 25, were discovered in a private collection.

This page, taken from the 1924 school prospectus or calendar, gives a clear indication of the goals of the Commercial Class:

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